The glass was used as a reliquary and has a wooden cover sealed on with wax. It bears on top in red wax the seal of Sigmund, Bishop of Salona, Suffragan Bishop of Passau. It was found at the church at Mattsee near Salzburg during restoration in 1908. The church was consecrated on 25th April 1458.
The glass was placed as a reliquary in one of three altars in the parish church at Mattsee near Salzburg when the church was consecrated by the Suffragan Bishop of Passau on 25th April 1458. It then contained the bones of St. Laurentius, traces of which still remain. It was discovered in 1846 when the altar was rebuilt, and sold in rather dubious circumstances in 1931. The priest gave it over to a baronness from Munich to sell. The buyer in turn sold it to Wilfred Buckley.
The so called 'Krautstrunk' [Cabbage stalk], is a glass beaker with applied foot and a decoration consisting of prunts. These prunts have been applied during the blowing process, as small blobs of hot glass, which the glassmaker pulled out with the aid of a pair of pincers, to form a regular pattern of pointed protrusions. These prunts have an obvious decorative purpose, but they also provided a good grip, when the glass was handled with greasy hands during dinner.
The krautstrunk was one of the most popular types of drinking glasses in central Europe, during the fifteenth and the first half of the sixteenth century. Several instances are know, where such a drinking glass acquired a secondary use as a reliquary.